The trafficking and abuse of methamphetamine, primarily ice methamphetamine,
pose the most significant drug threats in the Central Valley HIDTA region. Twenty-seven
of the 28 state and local law enforcement agencies in the region that responded
to the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) National Drug Threat Survey (NDTS)
20091
identify methamphetamine as the greatest drug threat in their jurisdictions. Twenty-five
of the respondents also indicate that methamphetamine is the drug that most contributes
to violent crime in their jurisdictions. Most of the ice methamphetamine available
in the area is produced by Mexican DTOs in Mexico and in domestic laboratories within
the HIDTA region. In fact, the majority of California's domestic methamphetamine
production occurs within the Central Valley HIDTA. In 2008, 56 percent of the methamphetamine
laboratory-related seizures in California (208 of 374) occurred within the HIDTA
region. HIDTA officials in Merced and Stanislaus Counties report an increase in
domestic production. Moreover, in 2008, HIDTA officials noted an increase in the
incidence of Mexican DTOs and criminal groups reestablishing domestic production
sites in the region. Because of the escalating violence in Mexico over the past
year and Mexican Government restrictions on precursor chemical imports, HIDTA officials
believe that Mexican DTOs will move more of their production operations to the United
States, including the Central Valley HIDTA region.

Cannabis cultivation operations are extensive and are increasing in magnitude
throughout the HIDTA region, making the Central Valley of California one of the
most significant marijuana production areas in the nation. According to law enforcement
officials, this situation has resulted from high levels of abuse, increased demand
for high-potency marijuana, and exploitation of state medical marijuana laws by
illegal cannabis cultivators and drug traffickers. The favorable climate in central
California, which supports the region's agricultural industry, also sustains widespread
outdoor cannabis cultivation operations conducted by Mexican DTOs and, to a lesser
extent, Asian criminal groups. Indoor cannabis cultivation is increasing in the
region, primarily because of increased large-scale indoor grow operations established
in residential neighborhoods by Asian DTOs. Indoor cannabis cultivation has also
increased because some Caucasian growers have moved indoors to avoid improved detection
and eradication of outdoor grow sites and to attain higher profit margins through
the production of high-potency indoor marijuana.

The availability and abuse of other illicit drugs also cause significant concern
to law enforcement officials and treatment providers in the Central Valley HIDTA
region. Mexican DTOs transport wholesale quantities of powder cocaine, black tar
heroin and, to a lesser extent, brown powder heroin from Mexico into the HIDTA region.
Crack cocaine is distributed primarily by African American street gang members in
the urban areas of the region. MDMA (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, also known
as ecstasy) is typically distributed in nightclubs by Asian criminal groups and
street gangs that also may be attempting to market other stimulants and hallucinogens
to abusers in the region. For example, in late 2008, law enforcement officers in
Fresno arrested an Asian male for attempting to sell tablets containing BZP (N-benzylpiperazine)
near a local high school.2
GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate), ketamine, LSD (lysergic acid diethylamide), PCP (phencyclidine),
psilocybin, and Rohypnol (flunitrazepam) are distributed and abused to varying degrees
throughout the region. Other illicit drugs, such as khat, are also abused within
certain East African ethnic communities.

Diverted controlled prescription drugs (CPDs) are a growing threat, according
to law enforcement officials and treatment providers in the HIDTA region. CPDs are
abused across all age groups and at high levels in the region. Distributors and
abusers commonly divert CPDs through doctor-shopping, drug thefts, prescription
forgeries, and Internet purchases. The ease with which drug traffickers and abusers
obtain CPDs through the Internet is a growing concern for law enforcement officials
and treatment providers in the HIDTA region. Benzodiazepines, hydrocodone, oxycodone,
and synthetic opioids are the most frequently abused CPDs.

Mexican and, to a lesser extent, Asian DTOs are the primary drug traffickers
in the HIDTA region and are the greatest concern to Central Valley law enforcement
officials. Other criminal groups, street gangs, and independent dealers operate
in the area; however, the drugs that these groups and dealers distribute are generally
supplied by Mexican and Asian traffickers.

Drug Trafficking Organizations, Criminal Groups,
and Gangs

Drug trafficking organizations are complex organizations with
highly defined command-and-control structures that produce, transport, and/or
distribute large quantities of one or more illicit drugs.

Criminal groups operating in the United States are numerous and
range from small to moderately sized, loosely knit groups that distribute
one or more drugs at the retail level and midlevel.

Gangs are defined by the National Alliance of Gang Investigators'
Associations as groups or associations of three or more persons with a common
identifying sign, symbol, or name, the members of which individually or
collectively engage in criminal activity that creates an atmosphere of fear
and intimidation.

Mexican DTOs represent the most significant organizational drug threat to the
Central Valley HIDTA region because they control most illicit drug production, transportation,
and distribution in the region. Members of these organizations control methamphetamine
and marijuana production operations throughout the HIDTA region. Additionally, Mexican
DTOs regularly transport bulk quantities of ice methamphetamine, marijuana, powder
cocaine, and heroin from Mexico into the area for subsequent regional- and national-level
distribution. Mexican DTOs in the region use multigenerational family networks that
typically consist of members who reside in California, Mexico, or various cities
throughout the United States. The Hispanic migrant worker population in the HIDTA
region employed by central California's agricultural industry provides communities
in which Mexican DTOs can operate with some anonymity.

Asian DTOs and criminal groups, primarily ethnic Cambodian, Hmong, Laotian, and
Vietnamese, are significant producers and distributors of illicit drugs in the Central
Valley HIDTA region. The drug trafficking threat they pose to the area is increasing
but is not as extensive as that posed by Mexican DTOs. Asian drug traffickers are
increasingly cultivating cannabis at indoor grow sites, typically located at residences
in new communities within the HIDTA region. Asian DTOs typically restrict involvement
in their drug trafficking operations to individuals of similar race/ethnicity and
familial affiliation. Asian DTOs transport Canadian high-potency marijuana and MDMA
primarily from Canada for distribution in the region. They are also the primary
MDMA distributors in many areas of the region.

Hispanic, African American, Asian, and Caucasian street gangs and outlaw motorcycle
gangs (OMGs) are of particular concern to law enforcement officials in the Central
Valley HIDTA region. These gangs are extremely violent as they establish or maintain
control of their drug trafficking activities. Hispanic street gangs, affiliates
of the Sureņos and Norteņos gangs, and independent gangs such as the Fresno Bulldogs
(see text box) are involved in midlevel
and retail-level distribution of methamphetamine, marijuana, cocaine, and heroin.
African American street gang members, primarily affiliates of Bloods and Crips,
distribute crack cocaine and marijuana at the retail level in the HIDTA region.
Asian street gangs are involved primarily in retail-level MDMA and marijuana distribution.
Members of OMGs, most notably Hells Angels Motorcycle Club (HAMC), are active in
midlevel and retail-level distribution of powder cocaine, methamphetamine, and marijuana.

Fresno Bulldogs is a street gang that originated in Fresno, California,
in the late 1960s. Bulldogs is the largest Hispanic gang operating in central
California, with membership estimated at 5,000 to 6,000. Bulldogs is one
of the few Hispanic gangs in California that claim neither Sureņos (Southern)
nor Norteņos (Northern) affiliation. However, gang members associate with
Nuestra Familia members, particularly when trafficking drugs. The street-level
distribution of methamphetamine, marijuana, and heroin is a primary source
of income for gang members. In addition, members are involved in other criminal
activity, including assault, burglary, homicide, and robbery.

Footnotes

1.
National Drug Threat Survey (NDTS) data for 2009
cited in this report are as of February 12, 2009. NDTS data cited are raw, unweighted
responses from federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies solicited through
either the National Drug Intelligence Center (NDIC) or the Office of National Drug
Control Policy (ONDCP) High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program. Data
cited may include responses from agencies that are part of the NDTS 2009 national
sample and/or agencies that are part of HIDTA solicitation lists.2.
BZP is a common name for the synthetic stimulant
N-benzylpiperazine. BZP
tablets, especially those that also contain the hallucinogen TFMPP (1-(3-trifluoromethylphenyl)piperazine), are often sold as MDMA or promoted as an alternative to MDMA.